EU proposes online right 'to be forgotten'

Websites could be compelled to delete all data held on users at their request,
if new European laws come into force.

The European Union is considering introducing legislation that would enable people to request that all personal information stored about them online be permanently deleted.Photo: Corbis

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor

12:55PM GMT 05 Nov 2010

Users could sue websites for invading their privacy and would have a right to be “forgotten” online, under new proposals from the European Union. It has drafted potential legislation that would include new, unprecedented privacy rights for citizens sharing personal data.

Aimed in particular at the users of social networks such as Facebook and major sites such as Google, the move marks another step in the ongoing battle between information commissioners and major websites. Google in particular has been criticised recently by privacy groups around the world for collecting Wi-Fi data while it was mapping roads for its Street View service.

The proposed EU rules are called "A comprehensive approach on personal data protection in the European Union", and suggest that an online "right to be forgotten" and to privacy could be enshrined in criminal law.

The “right to be forgotten” would give users the power to tell websites to permanently delete all personal data held about them.

Sites could face sanctions if they did not comply. Users would also have to explicitly “opt-in” before companies could use or process their personal data in any way.

The 20-page document also criticises the companies' current privacy policies as opaque, echoing criticisms made in the UK parliament by Ed Vaizey, the communications minister, and campaigning MP Rob Halfon.

The document proposes radically rewriting 1995 data protection laws, claiming that a "shift of focus" is required to deal with “Web 2.0” technologies. It says that "ways of collecting personal data have become increasingly elaborate and less easily detectable”.

"The protection of personal data is a fundamental right," said Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for justice who is overseeing the proposed regulation. "To guarantee this right, we need clear and consistent data protection rules. We also need to bring our laws up to date with the challenges raised by new technologies and globalisation."

Some websites have argued that making all use of personal data “opt-in” could put free services at risk, as advertisers would be deprived of attractive information that enables them to target commercial activity.

The European Commission will submit the proposals as legislation next year.